Pilots want all hangar leases extendedThe Russellville City Council’s Finance Committee voted to extend the hangar lease at Russellville Regional Airport for a prospective business, but many pilots left Tuesday’s meeting without a similar agreement. Airport Director Keith Frazier told aldermen the Airport Commission recommended to extend the hangar lease for Precision Applicators. Frazier said he thought the council should do whatever is in the best economic interest of the airpor...

Arkansas seeking rehearing in 12-week abortion ban caseLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Attorney General's Office is seeking a rehearing before the U.S. appeals court that agreed last month with a lower court that a state law unconstitutionally burdens women by banning abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy if a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a 19-page petition Wednesday seeking a rehearing before the entire 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The cou...

As waters recede, cleanup starts in soggy parts of ArkansasGARLAND CITY (AP) — With water receding after recent floods, cattle are being returned to pasture and recreation areas are reopening, but many Arkansas residents have a mess to clean up. "Some had 4 to 6 feet of water in their home," Pine Bluff Treasurer Greg Gustek said, describing his neighbors' misfortune. Water rose to within an inch of his garage. "We have neighbors pulling up carpet and taking drywall out. A lot of homes are ruined. They...

Former judge sentenced in mail fraud casePOCAHONTAS (AP) — A former Arkansas district judge convicted of drug charges has been sentenced in an unrelated mail fraud case involving American Indian artifacts. Bob Castleman, who was a judge in Pocahontas over a decade ago, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison and must pay nearly $16,800 in restitution. Castleman had claimed to an insurance company in 2012 that Native American arrowheads were stolen from his residence, but they were ...

Bids opened only on 2 major highway projectsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Bids were opened this week only on two major state highway projects due to concerns over federal funding, according to officials with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. The agency last month pulled nine projects estimated at $120 million for the Tuesday bid-letting in anticipation of a slowdown in federal transportation money. In all, the department has suspended opening bids on 70 projects worth more than $...

Alliance, council try to move forwardBY SEAN INGRAM sean@couriernews.com The Russellville City Council and members of the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED) met for nearly two hours Tuesday and discussed questions and disputed answers about the past, the present and looked to continue their relationship for the foreseeable future. “We want to get to the comfort level you need, so this relationship will continue,” AVAED Chairman Bryce Mobley said. Most were ...

Judge: Arkansas must recognize in-state same-sex marriagesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A judge ordered Arkansas officials on Tuesday to recognize more than 500 same-sex marriages performed in the state last year, a move that will let the couples enjoy a host of benefits such as filing taxes jointly and enrolling together in state health insurance plans. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen validated marriage licenses that were issued to same-sex couples after another judge struck down the state's gay m...

Act 746 — the actual lawMost of the public opinion on Act 746, which concerns Arkansas’ open-carry law, is strictly conjecture formed through trickle-down hearsay. So it’s useful for interested parties to have the opportunity to look at the key passage from the Act itself: “A person commits the offense of carrying a weapon if he or she possesses a handgun, knife, or club on or about his or her person, in a vehicle occupied by him or her, or otherwise readily availabl...

Drug director resigns county Quorum Court seatFORT SMITH (AP) — Arkansas' new drug director has resigned from the Sebastian County Quorum Court. Denny Altes of Fort Smith says in a letter to County Judge David Hudson that his job as drug director will require more time than he anticipated. The letter is dated May 26 and says his resignation is effective June 1. Hudson said he received the letter on Wednesday. Altes is a former state representative and state senator who was elected to the ...

Treasurer added to lawsuit by fired ex-employeeLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Treasurer Dennis Milligan has been added to a defamation lawsuit filed by a former treasurer's office employee against Milligan's chief of staff. The attorney for David Singer added Milligan on Friday to the lawsuit against Jim Harris, who fired Singer as outreach manager for the office. The lawsuit alleges Harris published false statements about Singer's mental health to co-workers, to Milligan and to the media. At...

New campaign launched to find missing Morgan NickLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A new billboard campaign has been launched in an effort to find an Arkansas girl who's been missing for 20 years. The campaign was announced Friday at a news conference attended by the girl's mother — Colleen Nick — and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The billboards will be placed in the Fort Smith and Alma areas and in northwestern Arkansas and in Little Rock and show an age-progressed picture of Morgan Nick in an effort to s...

Dardanelle decides not to construct pump stationDARDANELLE — The Dardanelle Water/Wastewater Committee decided Wednesday to not go ahead with the construction of a $318,752 booster pump station and tabled the issue to be discussed at a later date. “We discussed the pump station situation needed to fill the tank at the north end of town, but we decided to leave the matter where it is and pick it up at a different time,” water department manager Bill Smith said. “It won’t be constructed for t...

Alderwoman makes case to councilRussellville Alderwoman Freddie Harris said she is a private and quiet person as a rule, but when asked a year ago by residents to look into how city tax dollars were spent by the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED), she said she was shocked at what she found out. She told the City Council during a special meeting Thursday she has been told since then to follow the money and that a contract between the Alliance and the ci...

Huckabee downplays comments on transgender peopleLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Downplaying a joke he made earlier this year about transgender people, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Wednesday that he believes voters are more concerned about his thoughts on other issues such as the economy. The former Arkansas governor, who returned to his home state for a fundraising swing, declined to elaborate on the comments he made during a speech in February to the National Religious Broadcast...

Governor OKs closure of 7 armoriesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has approved the closure of seven armories in a cost-cutting move that's expected to save the state National Guard more than $268,000 annually. Hutchinson on Monday approved the closure at the request of the Guard to close the armories in Berryville, Blytheville, Brinkley, Crossett, Helena-West Helena, Rector and Wynne, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1dMepLI ) reported. The number o...

Dardanelle approves water/sewer rate hikeDARDANELLE — The Dardanelle City Council approved a 3-percent increase in water rates and a 27 percent increase in sewer rates during its regular meeting Monday at City Hall. Although the differential in the new sewer rates from the old seem steep, water department manager Bill Smith said a customer who uses the minimum 2,000 gallons will see only a $2.46 total increase on their monthly bill. “His [a customer using 2,000 gallons] water will go...

Arkansas sees another surge in revenue in MayLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Another month of strong tax collections in every major category is keeping the state's revenue ahead of expectations and last year's numbers, Arkansas finance officials said Tuesday The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said net available revenue in May totaled $335.9 million, which is $20.5 million above the same month last year and $40.3 million above forecast. The state's revenue for the fiscal year that b...

Lawmaker who opposed primary change leaves GOPLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas lawmaker who split with top Republicans over the state moving its primaries next year from May to March said Tuesday he's left the GOP and is now an independent. Rep. Nate Bell of Mena announced the decision days after Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law the primary change proposal that Bell had opposed during last week's special legislative session. The Polk County clerk's office said that Bell change...

Judge expected to rule soon in information-request caseLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A judge soon will decide whether a housing agency's leader failed to comply with an open-records law over claims he didn't provide documents requested by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Court filings show Judge Alice Lightle is expected to make a ruling Thursday after both sides filed briefs of their arguments Monday in Little Rock District Court, the newspaper reported. Executive director Rodney Forte of the Metropolitan Hou...